President Trump
Donald TrumpIran condemns American businessman for espionage: DC reports, state capitals see few problems, heavy security amid protests Concern seekers have paid tens of thousands of Trump allies to lobby the president: NYT MORE It moved on Monday to lift restrictions on travelers to the US from much of Europe and Brazil, which were implemented last year to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, although the action is expected to be stopped by the new Biden administration.
Trump has issued an executive order ending travel restrictions on the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil and European countries that make up the Schengen area since January 26. The order came two days before Trump left office. President-elect Joe Biden
Joe Biden Fear of inside attack prompts FBI over-guarding National Guard troops: AP Iran condemns American businessman accused of espionage: DC reports, state capitals see few problems, heavy security amid protests worries MOREThe team immediately signaled that it would move to reverse the order.
“With the worsening pandemic and the emergence of more contagious variants around the world, it is not the time to lift restrictions on international travel,” the White House press secretary wrote on Twitter. Jen Psaki
Jen PsakiBiden takes over at overnight medical care: Biden unveils vaccination plan with a focus on mass vaccinations | Coronavirus deaths worldwide exceed 2 million | CDC: The new variant could be the dominant US strain by March Biden, former Obama aide, Anita Dunn, as chief adviser MORE.
“On the advice of our medical team, the Administration does not intend to lift these restrictions to 1/26. In fact, we intend to strengthen public health measures around international travel, in order to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19, ”Psaki continued.
The order states that Trump’s action came at the recommendation of Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar. The memorandum cites the new order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that requires air passengers to the United States to receive a negative COVID-19 test within three days of their flight, saying it will help prevent the spread of the virus to travelers.
The Trump administration’s travel restrictions on China and Iran will remain in place, but according to the order, the countries “have repeatedly failed to cooperate with U.S. public health authorities and share accurate information about the spread of the virus in a timely manner.” And therefore, he cannot trust the implementation of the CDC order.
“Consequently, the secretary advised me to remove the restrictions applicable to the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and the Federative Republic of Brazil, while leaving the restrictions applicable to the People’s Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump’s order reads. “I agree with the secretary that this is the best way to continue to protect Americans from COVID-19, while allowing the trip to resume safely.”
Although Trump signed the order on Monday, the action will not take effect until six days after he leaves office and Biden is inaugurated.
The order comes as coronavirus cases and deaths continue to reach worrying, record, daily levels. Nearly 400,000 people in the United States and more than 2 million people worldwide have died from COVID-19. While two vaccines have been approved for emergency use in the United States, the Trump administration has fallen far short of its initial goals in vaccine distribution and administration.
The order will be one of the final actions Trump is taking on the pandemic, after it has been widely criticized for regularly downplaying the threat posed by the virus.
Trump announced in mid-March last year that he would impose travel restrictions on people entering the United States from the 26 countries that make up the Schengen area, a few weeks after the first case was reported in the United States. The measure initially attracted control, as it did not include Britain or Ireland, and the Trump administration later moved to restrict travel to those countries.
Trump subsequently placed travel restrictions on Brazil in late May.
The executive order to lift travel restrictions was one of several launched by the White House on Monday, as the last hours of Trump’s presidency come to an end. Trump is also expected to grant one last round of pardons before leaving office on Wednesday.
– Updated at 7:45 p.m.